Mohamed Khaled Nordin says the HSR project should not be politicised, and that it was meant to help develop the southern part of the country.

Former Johor menteri besar Mohamed Khaled Nordin says the HSR project appeared to have been cancelled without consultation with the Johor and Singapore governments. (Facebook pic)

JOHOR BAHRU: Former Johor menteri besar Mohamed Khaled Nordin wants the government to explain to the people its decision to cancel the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR) project.

Khaled, who is Johor Umno liaison committee chairman, said the partyâs view was based on several reasons, including the fact that the HSR was meant to help develop the potential of the southern states.

âIt is not a political project and should not be poli ticised. When it was decided that it would be implemented, it was hoped to be a game changer for development in the southern region of Malaysia.

âNot only would it facilitate and accelerate the movement of the people from the capital city of Kuala Lumpur to the southern part of the country and Singapore, it will also help in spearheading various economic activities along its stretch,â he said in a statement last night.

Khaled added that the decision to implement the HSR project was not made in haste as reviews had been done on various aspects.

He said it was impossible for Malaysia and Singapore to have approved a project that had no benefit for both parties.

âThirdly, the cancellation of the HSR will result in Malaysia being forced to pay an extremely high penalty of about RM500 million, which is definitely a waste.â

Khaled also said the project appeared to have been cancelled without consultation with the Johor and Singapore governme nts.

He said if the project had been cancelled due to the countryâs urgent financial situation, the federal government should consider postponing it to a more suitable time.